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Disney's Moana tops US box office

28 November 2016

Disney’s South Pacific animated tale Moana fell short of a Frozen-sized debut, but it still dominated the Thanksgiving box office in the US.

The movie – which is set in ancient Polynesia and features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House and Nicole Scherzinger – took in an estimated $81.1 million (£65.5 million) over the five-day weekend.

It earned $55.5 million (£44.4 million) from Friday to Sunday.

It didn’t match the 2013 Thanksgiving release of Frozen, which opened with $93.6 million (£74.9 million).

But Moana scored the second highest Turkey Day debut ever.

Watch footage from the Moana premiere in our Movie News!

Falling to second was JK Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, which earned $65.8 million (£52.7 million) over the five-day weekend.

Those releases far outpaced more star-driven films.

The Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard World War II romance Allied opened with a mediocre $18 million (£14 million) over five days.

And Warren Beatty’s first film in 15 years, Rules Don’t Apply, bombed with $2.2 million (£1.7 million).